Chapter 1: Head to the Storm

Empress Borought, Sunday, August 19, 1349, 9:20 a.m. 

Sitting at one of the multiple picnic tables behind the Mansion as it was still under repair after Thursday's earthquake, Backlund's Brightest Gem, Audrey Hall, looked down at the newspaper in her hands.

The blonde noblewoman's eyes lingered on the information in it for long moments, her expression unreadable... But if one were to look closely, one would notice how her eyebrow and eyelid twitched almost imperceptibly.

"Are you all right, my dear?" 

Putting the paper down calmly, Audrey picked up the beautiful and highly detailed teacup on her plate and took a soft sip.

"I'm fine, Mother.

"It's just... This news is certainly shocking."

The Lady of Hall House nodded slightly as she took a soft bite of her piece of carrot cake.

"That's putting it mildly, dear.

"You'd think that with the price on his head and the forces of the realm looking for him. Adryan Kenway would keep a low profile and disappear off the map for a while, never to be seen again. Hide somewhere remote so he could save his life; that's what a sane person would do."

Sigh

Lowering the plate with the cake, the matriarch extended a delicately gloved hand towards her daughter, who, understanding the message, held out the newspaper.

After reading the headline, the elder Hall shook her head. "But he was never a sane fellow. Every action he takes only proves and exalts his insanity."

Audrey said nothing, just gave a weak nod at her mother's words, and after a few seconds, she put the paper down again.

Unable to help herself, her crystalline emerald eyes were drawn to the huge headline written in black ink, which gave more impact to what it said.

THE SCARLET MONARCH AND THE FOOL, THE MYSTERIOUS SUPPORTERS OF THE WHITE DRAGON KNIGHT OF THE EAST BOROUGH!

Around the only women of the Hall family and parked at the corners. A crowd of guards guarded the place where they were eating.

Audrey glanced at them briefly before closing her eyes and taking another delicate sip of her tea, hoping the honey chamomile would help her relax.

...

"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!"

The tea didn't work.

Her scream was barely muffled by her pillow that had not only been screamed at, but had also been thumped and shaken side to side in the last 5 minutes since Audrey had returned to her room.

A room that, luckily for the Spectator, had not suffered much damage from the earthquake. Only the windows had been broken and those had been quickly replaced.

Lifting her head from the pillow and with her hair now somewhat disheveled, Audrey fell backwards, staring blankly at the ceiling of her room. 

Her classes for the week had been canceled until the beginning of September, so she had a little holiday—something she couldn't even be happy about because of the sudden break's cause.

A sudden heaviness in her stomach made her look down into worried eyes.

Susie looked worriedly at her best friend/teacher/owner with her ears down and tail lying on her legs. Her big brown eyes sparkled with emotions.

"Hello Susie..." The noblewoman murmured in a soft voice as, with one hand, she began to gently stroke behind the Golden retriever's left ear, her favorite spot.

Susie's gaze didn't change, but her tail twitched for a moment before it began to wag back and forth gently, not as excitedly as she normally would.

It was a gentle but sad movement, the swinging of a sad child whose legs only moved by inertia.

Susie said nothing, nor did Audrey. They both just focused on each other's company.

Audrey's hand continued its work automatically as her mind was elsewhere.

'Tomorrow is the Tarot Club...'

The pause that Mr. Fool dictated was over. Yesterday, the leader of the Tarot Club had communicated that the meetings would return to normal.

She was sure she would be elated if 'it' hadn't happened. She had been waiting for this moment since Mr. Fool had notified her that the mission to kill Qilangos was over after Chariot killed him.

Sigh

The thought of the man only made her fear of tomorrow grow.

'How will Mr. Fool react? I know he's a fair and benevolent existence, but Mr. Chariot broke the rules...

'Don't mention 'His' name to strangers and keep the existence of the Tarot Club a secret...'

Even for someone as calm and collected as Mr. Fool, this is inexcusable and deserves punishment!

And Audrey feared as much.

'Will it be a reprimand, an expulsion, or... an execution?

'... Any of those possibilities could become a reality...'

'But... Why would Mr. Chariot do this?'

The more she thought about it, the less sense it made to Audrey. Something so brazen and outlandish didn't fit in with this guy's personality at all!

'Mr. Chariot can be dishonest, manipulative, cheating, bullying, provocative, teasing, misguided, mischievous, spiteful, arrogant, disrespectful, blasphemous, insane...' 

Audrey's train of thought, which was going so fast it was leaving a trail of smoke behind it, slowed to a stop at the 'Oh...' stop.

'...'

Now that she thought about it and just highlighting those points... Mr. Chariot was a horrible person.

'Sure, that's his persona in meetings. I'm sure in his day-to-day life, he's a completely different one!'

She noticed this every time she went out partying to act as a Spectator: depending on the situation, each person acted differently.

When introduced to a new group of people, people act differently than they would in a group of friends. This is not out of malice but as a form of protection that goes both ways.

Everyone wears a different mask to hide who they are, and it is certain that Chariot's mask is just that!

A mask!

'Someone who outside of meetings rescues kidnapped people and destroys evil gangs and saves the day can't be such a horrible person in reality!'

A hero cannot be a villain! Even Emperor Roselle himself thinks so!

...

She was getting off-topic.

Audrey abruptly sat up with that fleeting thought, causing Susie to roll to the side and give her an ugly look.

'Chariot's true personality aside, if there's one thing he never was, it's being disrespectful to Mr. Fool! 

'So, doing this out of the blue doesn't make sense for someone like him! It's like he's a completely different person!'

Her brow furrowed slightly, her hand moved, and she quickly went back to scratching Susie's ear, who melted at the cuddling. Letting herself go as she felt her teacher's emotional state improve a little.

'Unless... this is a mutual agreement! 

Mr. Fool and Mr. Chariot came to an agreement that allowed the latter to reveal Mr. Fool's existence... Yes, that's it!' Audrey felt it, felt that she had arrived at the truth!

But just as she was at the peak of her elation, a fleeting thought struck her like a rifle bullet kills an ava in mid-flight.

'But that doesn't explain who the Scarlet Monarch is and why he suddenly appears as an ally of Mr. Fool and the Tarot Club...'.

Letting out a soft sigh, Audrey went into cogitation to calm her agitated emotions. 

Whatever the truth was, she would know tomorrow.

...

Somewhere in the Sonia Sea, Blue Avenger.

With a Plack, the navy blue bound book closed, having documented a new route he had not yet explored. Alger Wilson tucked the book into his waistcoat along with the pencil he had used to jot it down.

His blue hair blowing in the sea wind, his deep-set eyes staring at the storm on the horizon. With his experience at sea and the knowledge the potion brought him, Alger quickly gave the order to change course.

With the order given, he returned to his room and closed the door. Sitting back in his seat, the man scratched his brow and looked seriously ahead.

'What is Mr. Fool planning?'

He had received a letter from the Church stating that he should be aware of Adryan Kenway and that if he came across any information about the Scarlet Monarch and The Fool, he should contact them as soon as possible.

It also came with a report of what had happened on Thursday the 16th. Alger had not heard anything about it as he had still been at sea when it all happened...

As was his custom by now, as soon as he read the message Alger destroyed it.

Putting a hand to his chin, the man struck a thoughtful pose as he scratched the beginnings of his beard.

While the report contained a great deal of information, Alger was sure that much of it had been left out or withheld.

'I'm nobody important, so it's obvious they won't share all the information...' The Blue Avenger Captain thought somewhat bitterly and slightly annoyed.

'And it seems that Mr. Fool feels the same way...' 

'Whatever happened there, it is obvious that it was a secret mission that Mr. Fool entrusted Mr. Chariot with...'

The leader of the Tarot Club had already shown his enmity towards the Evil Gods; a sign of that would be 'His' intervention in the ritual to the Fallen Creator in Tingen. It is not at all strange that 'He' also intervened in what happened in Backlund.

For one, 'He' used 'His' blessed, while for the other, 'He' used Chariot.

Both could be considered huge events, and Alger sensed that something else had emerged with this latest interference.

'Mr. Fool has regained more strength and is now ready to show himself to the world!!'

He never thought for a moment that Chariot had betrayed the Tarot Club; even though the man was clearly insane, he knew who had 'His' hand on his neck.

So Alger was absolutely certain, without a doubt, that the revelation of the existence of Mr. Fool and the implication of the Tarot Club's existence was all a plan of Mr. Fool's!

But in spite of knowing that, there was something that confused Alger.

Who was the Scarlet Monarch?

'Considering what was revealed, he is quite possibly an ally of Mr. Fool and the Tarot Club... And considering the Honorific Name that came with the message, he is a 'He' as well...'

He didn't think about why Mr. Fool had never mentioned the existence of this ally or that 'He' was also behind the Tarot Club, or rather Alger didn't dare think about why.

'Stay out of God's business...' Alger thought serenely as he closed his eyes for a moment.

The mantra by which he had survived so many years in this world repeated itself in his mind like a broken record.

Doubly so if it was business between Two Gods!

A little fear curled up in his stomach along with a great contentment, a small smile on his face.

Joining the Tarot Club had proved to have been the right decision!

'With Two Great Existences behind us, our growth is assured as long as we prove ourselves useful!'

Two Great Existences never unite for no reason; the limit was the heavens for anyone who followed the path those existences planned to walk!

That path was only reserved for the best of the best, the gold from the copper. Only the strongest and most capable were worthy of safety.

Rising from his seat, the man marched decisively to the door of his room. Alger had a new objective, a new goal to free himself from the oppression of the Church.

He had to be stronger if he wanted to prove himself worthy to follow the Fool and the Scarlet Monarch through all the hardships and difficulties that were sure to befall him.

Mr. Fool only entrusted this job to Mr. Chariot because he is extremely capable, skilled, and strong—someone who has already proven that he is the one you contact to get the job done!

With new determination in mind, Alger opened the door with a loud Bang!, the sound drawing a startled look from his men.

Ignoring their stares, Alger walked to the front of the ship. Staring at the dark clouds in the distance his determination did not waver but only strengthened.

"Change course, we're heading straight into the storm!"